The present invention relates to a tonneau cover device, and particularly to the one in which a tonneau cover can be widely opened by utilizing bending of the tonneau cover.
In a conventional tonneau cover, a tonneau cover is configured so that it is opened or closed according to an open-close operation of a back door, and when the back door is opened, the tonneau cover moves to its upper position for allowing any baggage to be carried in or out of a baggage compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,181,911 discloses a structure in which two panel pieces are provided behind a seat back so as to cover over a baggage compartment, a rear-side panel piece comprises a pair of arm members at its both-side end portions, and rear end portions of these arm members are connected to a back door, whereby the rear-side panel piece can be opened or closed according to the open-close operation of the back door.
In the structure disclosed in the above patent publication, when the back door is opened, a rear end of the rear-side panel piece is pulled up by the arm members and thereby the baggage compartment is opened for the baggage carrying in or out. Meanwhile, when the back door is closed, the rear-side panel piece is lowered and thereby the baggage compartment is closed.
The above-described structure has a problem, however, in that since only the rear-side panel piece is opened according to the back door opening, an opened space over the baggage compartment would not be large enough to carry in or out a relatively large baggage from the baggage compartment smoothly. Also, since the front-side panel piece is fixed to a vehicle body, thereby not opened, the carrying in or out of the baggage to or from a forward space in the compartment, which is below the front-side panel piece, may be too difficult to load lots of baggage.